Some more tracks from our reunion concert last Sunday. Check the Appearances page here for more shows I’ll be playing with Pablo. Many more to come.
Pablo Ziegler was given the news of his landing the piano job in Astor Piazzolla’s New Tango Quintet when the manuscript for a newly composed intro/cadenza was shoved under the door of his apartment by the composer. In Pablo’s arrangement, I play that cadenza, followed by a later one Piazzolla composed, and then we launch into the tune proper. I remember when I saw the Quintet at the Beacon Theater in NYC, the first notes of Adios Nonino (written by Piazzolla at the passing of his father) were all that was needed to throw the audience into ecstatic exclamations.
Astor Piazzolla: Adios Nonino
I performed solo Pablo’s Milonga del Adios. I’ve posted another performance of this gorgeous piece from a From the Top broadcast, but as this one was done under the gentle tutelage of the Composer, here’s Sunday night’s version:
Pablo and I traded slow and fast solo milongas on each half. For this solo turn, Pablo chose an old school piece. Julian Plaza’s Nocturno
Pablo Ziegler: El Empedrado (from his Buenos Aires Trilogy)
Pablo Ziegler: Milongueta
Again, a beautiful improvised introduction by Pablo to our finale, Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango
encore: Pablo’s two-piano arrangement of Astor Piazzolla: Revirado
Special thanks to Steven Greenstein, who made the very best of the Yamaha 7’ers on the Doctorow Center Stage, and whose piano collection next door to the hall, was a revelation: more than enough instruments to return for various performances of various repertoire (Matt Haimovitz and I have recorded all the Beethoven Works on an 1823 Broadwood and his gut-strung Gofriller for release early in 2015; this would be a great place to perform them), a COUPLE of Broadwoods plus a Broadwood upright, and apparently more on the way, Liberace’s Baldwin SD-10 (one of their best ever), an Erard Concert Grand with extraordinary fundamentals and sustained resonance (would’ve been interesting to pair those two for this concert), Bechstein, Stein, Mason & Hamlin (I practiced Bach e minor Partita all afternoon on that one; gorgeous) and many more square grands of historical and design prominence.
Thanks also to Brian C. Peters for recording the concert so beautifully, to Pam Weisberg and Victoria Thompson of the Catskill Mountain Foundation for their so graciously hosting us and for their enthusiasm and effort in getting the word out (we were near capacity), and to the warm and generous audience of the Doctorow Center.
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